


The Trap

by cookies_x3



Series: Stony Bingo 2018 [2]
Category: Captain America - All Media Types, The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Character Death, Dark Tony Stark, Deceit and Lies, Hurt Steve Rogers, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Not Canon Compliant, STONY Bingo 2018, Story within a Story, Tony-centric, Unreliable Narrator, You Have Been Warned
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-27
Updated: 2018-08-27
Packaged: 2019-07-03 10:06:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,592
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15816702
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cookies_x3/pseuds/cookies_x3
Summary: It was just supposed to be a team bonding exercise. Then everything went wrong.Tony recounts the events that led to the death of Bucky Barnes.





	The Trap

'Help! I need help here! Help!'  
  
The anxious call rings through the long, sterile white hallway. The doctors and nurses of the SHIELD hospital at the east coast of America startle at the loud shouting when a man clad in metal comes running into the facility, carrying a second man who is bleeding all over the floor. He clearly is in distress about the man in his arms. Tony has his face plate flipped up and is looking down at Bucky who is losing far too much blood.  
  
Some nurses come rushing to him, to help him with the fallen Avenger.  
  
'He, he isn't breathing. I already tried CPR but he wouldn't react.', Tony says, trying to remain calm and ignore the side of the screen which shows that Jarvis can't detect a heartbeat. Somewhere they get a stretcher from and Tony carefully puts Bucky on it.  
  
'We will do anything in our power.', a doctor promises before hurrying off with the stretcher. Tony's shoulders slump as he sees his teammate being carried off like this. Suddenly he doesn't know what to do.  
  
'We will do anything for him, Mr Stark.', a nurse says with a soft, comforting smile, putting a hand on Tony's shoulder. Tony nods, still staring in the direction in which Barnes had been carried off. 'Maybe we should get you checked over in the meantime until the doctors know more?', she suggests, gently pushing him in the general direction of a room. Tony nods mechanically, not really taking in what they do to him. Just when the nurse asks him if he could disassemble the suit he comes back to the present and to the events that had unfolded mere hours ago.  
  
It was supposed to be a normal training exercise before it all went wrong. Everything is a little fuzzy as Tony stares at the nurse before slowly taking off his suit.  
  
Some months ago Steve had finally found his best friend Barnes again. He had been so shocked when it turned out to be no other than the fabled Winter Soldier, a brainwashed agent of Hydra, that he let Barnes leave that first time. It had taken Steve the better part of a year to track Bucky down and bring him to the Avengers Tower. Tony hadn't been thrilled to have another deadly assassin in his house, an unpredictable one at that, then however Bruce and he had figured out how to reverse the most of the brainwashing and returned Barnes to normal (well, as normal as was possible) state. Steve had been eternally grateful to have his best friend back. Tony was happy that Steve was happy. So what if the blond ignored him, his boyfriend, a little to spend time with his lost friend? The genius will admit to have been a little jealous about that fact, yes, but that is about it. It's not as if Steve suddenly started falling for Bucky or anything, or as if he stopped loving Tony. It's just that Tony felt like Bucky was intruding on his comfortable life at the Tower.  
  
The Winter Soldier had been agreed on to be a trainee for the team. For this reason Steve had called in a training exercise for them to practice together and learn to interact as a team. Natasha was chosen alongside Hawkeye to form the group of 'villains' whom they would have to track down and take in, a task that sounds easier than it is done. Tony had organized them a flight to a mountain region close to their home and yet void of human life so that they wouldn't scare any civilians.  
  
The nurse says something about needing to stitch him up and Tony nods. When the doctor comes in, he knows already what he is going to say. He sees the lips of the doctor move but the world seems to be without sound. It could have been hours before the sound returns and the nurse leads him into a private waiting room. He didn't even feel the stitches.  
  
'I have called your friends. They will be here soon.', she says, squeezing Tony's hand before heading off, knowing better than to bother Tony Stark in a hospital.  
  
It takes the team probably half an hour to get to the position of the hospital which is quite some distance from their training ground. They all come, Steve is the first to enter the room, Natasha and Clint are right behind him. The rear consists of Bruce, who hadn't participated in their team exercise, Thor and Sam. They all look concerned. They don't chatter and that's something Tony appreciates very much. Steve crouches down in front of him, taking a hold of his hand. They probably already know but he has to tell Steve himself.  
  
'Bucky..', Tony rasps, his voice hoarse from everything behind him. He can barely look at his boyfriend who crouches down in front of him.  
  
'I know he's dead.' It sounds final when he says it. The truth starts sinking in slowly. 'Shush, the doctor says you're in shock.' He caresses Tony's cheek to get him to look up. It stings slightly, letting Tony know that a big bruise is forming there already.  
  
The inventor shakes his head, waving the concern off. 'I'm fine.' Steve looks like he highly doubts that. There is a timid knock on the door, then a doctor enters, interrupting the questioning for a moment. Steve raises to stand.  
  
'I am sorry to interrupt.', he says. 'My condolences for your loss.', he adds, looking at Steve.  
  
'Can I see him?', Steve asks immediately.  
  
'I cannot recommend that, Captain Rogers. Sergeant Barnes is not in a shape to be seen. His injuries were extensive. By the time he came here, he must have been dead for some time.', he tries to hold Steve back, at least for a little while.  
  
The blond however seems to accept that for now. Maybe it wouldn't be real then for some time. 'Wh-what did he die off?'  
  
'I cannot say for sure until after the autopsy There are major burns on your friend, a lot of internal damage. He has been shot several times. Each of his wounds could have been lethal.'  
  
Steve nods.  
  
'I have been meaning to check on Mr Stark again.', the doctor says, stepping a little closer. Tony shakes his head, he doesn't want any more doctors or needles around him. They make him nervous. The doctor exchanges a look with Steve, then leaves the room, leaving Tony in Steve's care. Everyone in SHIELD knows by now not to pressure Tony into an examination.  
  
'What happened?', Natasha asks with half a back glance to the open door which Clint quickly closes to grant them all some privacy. The doctors and nurses are all SHIELD though, it's not as if they'd pry on the Avengers. Either way, they just took a quick look at the team, then withdrew, knowing better than to annoy them in a time of mourning.  
  
Tony sighs. 'I messed up, that's what happened. Thought it's just a quick reconnaissance mission, didn't think they were waiting for us. I tried to get him out but that didn't work. We fell. Then there was that explosion and then..', he rambles, barely able to get the words out as quick as they come.  
  
'Slow down, Tony. Darling.' Finally Tony looks up to meet Steve's impossibly blue eyes. 'Please slow down. Could you start at the beginning?' How could he be so calm seeing that his best friend is right now little more than a bundle of blood and pulp? It gives Tony the strength though to breathe in deeply and nod.  
  
'Alright.' Steve smiles then at him and it's like the sun is rising. 'We were in the forest, going after Romanov. Thought she might be hiding there. We weren't quite agreeing on the direction so we just walked for a while. Then the com system shut down and I couldn't get a connection to you guys anymore. I'll admit I was worried. Even Jarvis couldn't find a signal anymore. It was like we just dropped over the rim of the world. Barnes didn't like it as well. We could have just went back and reported this. It could have been a natural phenomenon, it could be human made. We didn't trust it and decided to investigate. None of Jay's sensors worked properly, I had to activate manual controls.' Tony groans and hides his hand in his face. 'We should have called you in, we should have never went alone.'  
  
'Shush, darling. It's not your fault.'  
  
'I should have known better and stopped him.' Tony shakes his head. 'I'm sorry.', he says, getting back on track. Somehow talking helped. 'We continued to search the forest. There have been clear signs of human activity in the area which just solidified our suspicions. It could have been nothing, it could have been a big threat. We didn't know, so we just went on, looking for clues and hints. Barnes found some footprints and other signs that someone had been there not too long ago. He motioned me to follow him and we sneaked closer to a hill right in front of us. We were pretty high up by then, far away from civilization, a remote location if I've ever seen one.'  
  
Tony pauses for a moment, gathering his thoughts. 'We never reached that hillside. Suddenly the hill was swarming with AIM agents. I could barely get my shields up before they started firing. They had.. weapons they didn't have before. The likes I have never seen before. I could feel the impact right through the armor.' Tony looks in the direction of his destroyed armor which rests in the corner. The blast holes are still clearly visible.  
  
'They were everywhere. We decided to make a dash for it. I thought we'd die right there. I don't know how he managed to withstand those blasts. I picked him up and wanted to fly us out of there but there were too many shots in the air. We would have gotten hit. I had to land near an abyss. At least we had none of them in our backs I thought.' Tony stays quiet for a moment, likely lost in the scenes and moments that followed.  
  
'What is that?' Natasha points at his arm where a big bruise had began to spread. It has the shape of a hand. Surprised Tony looks at it.  
  
'It must be from Barnes. When my thrusters gave out when I was hit, I almost fell down that cliff. He grabbed me. God knows how he held me up long enough for me to get a hand on the edge. They fired at him. He should have dropped me. Barnes got hit, bad. I don't know how bad. I was able to climb back up and join the fight again. Goodness, he tried to shield me, for whatever reason. Jarvis was trying to do some repairs with the nanobots but during a fight that's semioptimal. Barnes managed to take out some of the attackers, I could overpower some others. There were just too many. We had to withdraw and no means of knowing if we were running in a good direction or from the frying pan into the fire. We just tried to get some distance between us and them. Jarvis managed to give me flight power. I picked up Barnes and flew for our lives..' Tony sighs deeply.  
  
Steve holds his hands, squeezing them a little to encourage his lover.  
  
'They shot us down. I was injured, a branch had breached the armor.' He points down at his stomach where it is bandaged up. The wound is deep but the painkillers keep him from feeling anything. 'Hit nothing vital. Barnes must have been nearly unconscious by then. He was bleeding all over the floor, there was nothing I could do about it. He took the brunt of our impact. I got up from the ground, glad that we had put some distance between us. I helped Barnes to stand up as well, then dragged him in the general direction where I had seen a house. Probably their hideout but better than nothing. I hoped to find something there that could assist us. Anything. Maybe a radio or something else to boost the signal of the suit so that I could call for backup. It seemed to take forever to get there. I could hear them hunting us like dogs. Barnes looked bad, I- I found myself hoping he would pass out. I can't imagine in what pain he must have been there. Finally we reached that house, a big warehouse-like thing. I managed to blast one of the doors open and drag Barnes inside. The suit's power supplies failed partly so I had to pull him and my suit with me. I didn't want to leave him behind, told him so when he asked. I don't leave a teammate with those people. Apparently they had been waiting outside for us because no one seemed to be inside though that changed pretty quickly as they detected our traces to their main quarters.'  
  
He has to take a deep breath. The room is quiet like a grave. 'There were more weapons, far more. It made me think that they didn't attack with the worst they had.' He looks down. 'Jarvis, do you have coverage of that?'  
  
'No, Sir. The memory of the Mark 52 has been compromised. I can try to piece some of the information together but I am afraid it will not be complete.', the AI informs his master. 'I have footage of everything up to the moment in which you crossed the veil.'  
  
'Thought so.', he mutters, turning back to his team. 'So, yeah, no radio, nothing to call anyone. I knew you must be looking for us by then but that didn't mean you'd be looking for us in the right place or that you could win against them. It was obviously a trap designed to capture or kill one Avenger or two. I dragged Barnes along. They caught up. There was a skirmish in the hallway. I don't know what exactly happened. Barnes pulled me down to the floor, then everything was on fire. I know some seconds are missing there, that's maybe when I got hit on the head. It's a concussion, I have no recollection of where I got it. It must have been there and then. I could feel the heat through the suit, especially where it was torn. Maybe I hit something, maybe they did. I could hear explosions ringing in my ears. People were screaming. I managed to get a hold on Barnes and get us out of the building before it blew. We got hit by the debris. My suit was down and the only info Jarvis could give me about Barnes is that I could do nothing. His injuries were too extensive. He told me of this hospital. It took me way too long to find a transport vehicle they left behind. My suit refused to work and time was ticking by.' Here Tony stops and refuses to go on. They all know that in the time he spent looking how to get them out of there Bucky stopped breathing.  
  
Natasha puts a hand on Tony's shoulder, startling the man. 'You've done everything you could. It's not your fault.' Tony nods, not really taking in her words. He must look broken if even Romanov tries to cheer him up. Probably they all think of his selfdestructive behavior in the past and of the blame he always places on himself.  
  
'I think that's enough questioning for one day. Tony's hurt and needs rest. Let's get you home.', Steve decides after a moment of silence. 'You can talk about this to Fury.', he says to Natasha.  
  
Steve has tears in his eyes when he helps Tony stand up. The injuries slowly start to burn their way into his consciousness. He winces slightly when Steve puts an arm around him to support Tony but otherwise doesn't let his discomfort be noticed. His worries that Steve might hate him because he didn't protect his best friend enough vanish into thin air when Steve presses a kiss to his temple, muttering an 'I love you'.  
  
'Thank you.', Tony whispers quietly as Steve leads him out of the hospital. Steve merely nods as he holds the door to the car open. Happy has a worried look on his face when he looks in the rear mirror but he starts the engine immediately, getting them home. Steve raises the wall between them, pulling Tony closer to him.  
  
'What injuries didn't you tell them about?', he murmurs into his hair.  
  
'Some medium burns, a dislocated shoulder but that was fixed. The TBI is moderate rather than mild. I got quite a blow on the head. Some bruised rips and a fractured one. My ankle is sprained. Otherwise I think I mentioned everything.', Tony lists, knowing Steve wouldn't leave it be until he knew.  
  
Steve sighs deeply, kissing Tony's temple again. The rest of the drive they pass in silence, leaning on each other for comfort. It's a good thing Steve hadn't insisted on Tony staying in the hospital. Just when they reach the Tower Tony becomes aware of the state he is in. The clothes he had worn under the suit are torn and singed, bloated with blood. His hair is full of dirt and blood, he must look frightful.  
  
'I'll get cleaned up.', he informs Steve almost passively, getting out of the elevator.  
  
'Shall I help you?', he offers but Tony merely shakes his head, heading off for the bathroom. He evades looking in the vicinity of the mirror as he slowly strips out of his clothing, throwing it on the floor so it could be burned later. He doesn't need the reminder. He shouldn't take a shower but doesn't think he would be able to sleep like this, with Bucky's blood on his hands. The warm water of the shower burns but it also chases away some of the memories. Barnes' dead face. The explosion. A weapon aimed at his head.  
  
Tony shakes his head. It takes more than an hour before he feels ready to leave the bathroom again. Steve has already prepared the bed and is sitting on it, clearly waiting for Tony to arrive.  
  
'Do you want me to stay?', Steve asks quietly, like he is afraid of startling Tony. He can see that the blond had cried, his eyes are still glassy and the rim of them is red. He pulls himself together for Tony's sake, so he wouldn't feel worse about today than he does.  
  
'Don't go, please.', Tony answers just as quietly, walking around the bed to his side. He had taken some pain killers but his head starts hurting nonetheless. Being alone is not what he wants right now. The bed is already warm, Tony needs to repress a shudder.  
  
'Light on or off?', he asks when Tony has crawled into bed, drawing the covers up high.  
  
'Off.' Steve nods, then slips under the covers as well and Jarvis turns off the lights in the room. 'Do you hate me?', Tony asks because he has to know, he has to hear it from his lover's mouth.  
  
'How could I, Tony? No, I love you. With all my heart.', he promises with so much feeling that Tony believes him.  
  
'I love you too, Steve. So much that it sometimes hurts.', he admits. Silence settles between them, it's not uncomfortable however.  
  
'I came so close to losing you today.', Steve whispers in the dark. Tony can barely make out his form in the bed. 'I don't know what I would have done. Losing Bucky again is hard, I haven't really processed it all. But if it would have been you..' He can hear the tears though Tony doesn't see them.  
  
'Sh, Stevie. I'm here, I'm fine.'  
  
Steve shakes his head. 'I am glad that you're the one alive. That's terrible. I'm a horrible person. When the nurse called and said you two are in the hospital, I asked for you and she told me you're worse for wear but that Bucky is dead, I was relieved. I was so relieved that you were alive.', he admits under tears.  
  
That makes Tony just feel even more sympathy for his lover. 'Oh, come here.' Tony opens his arms and lets the soldier cuddle into the embrace. 'That doesn't make you a horrible person. I should have saved him.'  
  
He shakes his head. 'You did everything you could. You are a hero, Tony.', Steve whispers, tears in his voice. He sniffles. 'I'm so glad you're here with me.'  
  
Tony's heart rejoices at hearing that.  
  
Steve would never have to know that there had never been any agents from AIM anywhere close to the mountain region. He would never have to know how exactly the hand print of Bucky had found its way to Tony's arm when he tried to redirect Tony's repulsor blast aimed at the Winter Soldier's head. He would never have to know just how far Tony is willing to go for their relationship.  
  
He hugs the blond closer to his chest when he starts crying. No Bucky Barnes would ever come between them. No one would for that fact as long as Tony had a say in it. 

**Author's Note:**

> It's a fill for the prompt 'Unreliable Narrator' for the second round of the 2018 Stony Bingo. I hoped you like it, even if the ending was kind of dark.


End file.
